Honda Innovations, the Silicon Valley arm of Honda R&D, is investing in the funds of four venture capital firms as part of its global efforts to enhance its support to early-stage innovators, according to a company statement.
The company said it will invest in 360 Capital Partners, JB Nordic Ventures, SOSV, and Yunqi Partners.
360 Capital Partners is a European VC firm that invests across Europe in innovative deep-tech, with a focus on robotics, mobility, and industrial innovation. JB Nordic Ventures, on the other hand, is a newly launched VC fund that focuses on IT, robotics, and mobility for Baltic, Iceland, and Scandinavia.
US-headquartered VC firm SOSV focuses on accelerating startups in hardware, mobility, cross-border software, food, and life sciences in San Francisco, New York, London, Shenzhen, Shanghai, and Taipei.
Yunqi Partners is a VC firm in Shanghai and Beijing that invests in companies focusing on enterprise service, IOT, robotics, and mobility.
“These partnerships expand Honda’s support of global innovation through Xcelerator operations in major technology hubs around the world, including Israel, Boston, Detroit, Japan, China, and Europe,” Honda Innovations said.
Honda Innovations CEO said, the company’s investment in venture capital firms will play a “critical role” in Honda Xcelerator’s support for global innovation ecosystems and innovators at all stages.
Since 2015, Honda Xcelerator has supported startups with funding for rapid prototyping, collaborative work spaces, mentorship opportunities, and access to all Honda products including test vehicles and robotics prototypes.
“These VC partnerships, along with our continued direct collaboration with select startups around the world, increase our ability to jumpstart new businesses and back early stage transformative technologies,” Sugimoto said.
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